I could probably come up with a PDF version of this. That way it could be big enough for folks to print out and post where ever they see fit. It could read: "As of (today's date) Clear Channel owes Tacoma ..."

What's the current story with this Clear Channel situation? Has anyone heard anything since they took down all those stupid Constitutions Matter billboards all over town a few months ago? I would love to know if any fines have actually been paid.

I've heard from a litigating squirrel in my attic that some of the billboards along the freeway aren't going to be subject to removal. Sounds like the City is learning a bit about its boundaries in this case but that there's still plenty of opportunity to get rid of billboards in our neighborhoods and such.

U.S. court upholds L.A. ban on billboards -
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a lower-court ruling, saying the city's 2002 prohibition of outdoor advertising does not violate a sign company's 1st Amendment right to free speech.

It's worth pointing out that code violations are rampant in the city of Tacoma. For example, if you trim a tree growing on city right of way without first obtaining a permit you can be cited with a $1000 fine.This sort of trimming occurs all the time but no one ever gets the $1000 fine. The billboard violations are the more obvious than the illegal tree trimming, but just as unlikely to ever result in any actual fines.

I think that because RR has been such an outspoken proponent of Clear Channel billboard annihilation that a portion of the proceeds from litigation of Clear Channel (assuming there will be proceeds) should be used to cover some or all of the publishing costs of RR's upcoming book.

Kevin I know the billboards are ugly but I look at the Richards collection pictures (Tacoma Public Library) once in a while. Frequently the most interesting photographs are the street scenes with billboards. The billboards illustrate products long since forgotten and help establish an approximate date of the photograph. I'd rather see a classic billboard advertising a 1957 Vespa than another clump of signs that proclaim "i'm an ignoramus...vote for me."

@fredo - Just because documenting history and noting it in that way may be interesting doesn't mean we have to repeat it. There are plenty of other ways we're barraged with ads these days and if it helps to clean up and make our neighborhoods more livable and attractive not to have them, so be it.

Aside from that, Clear Channel is in violation of City Code and should pay their fines just as any small business owner in violation of a code would be required (and pressured) to do.

Kevin- It's had to judge the future historic value of a contemporary item. Back in the caveman days there were probably people who thought that the petroglyphs were trash. But in today's world we find great value in them and protect them like the treasures they are. Are today's billboards the equivalent of the petroglyphs? Perhaps not, but we can't tell from our perspective. For the record I think the billboards are ugly.

The year: 900,000,000 AD. The human race has evolved to have greater intelligence and sentience. We've put aside our differences, pooled our resources and have taken to the stars. Across the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, fifty trillion people inhabit a panstellar civilization with astonishing advancements in science, culture and technology.

Naturally, humans are as curious as ever. Regular expeditions back to the homeworld of Earth are carried out so that we may learn about our forefathers, and thus about ourselves.

One bright day beneath the sweltering red giant Sun, a party excavates the ruins of the great cultural centers of what was the Northwest, before the Chinese baked it with alpha and beta particles.Beneath the rubble once called Tacoma, RRAnderous Prime unearths a sign. He calls over his colleagues, and they stare in awe at the discovery.

"It is amazing" says RRAnderous. "Here we have a rare chance to read a message from the past!"

"It is indeed amazing" says Beta-Morganus. "It truly must be something meaningful, as the Ancients left so little for us to find."

"Yes", replies Freitatron-88 Alpha. "I long to see what wisdom the Ancients may pass on to us, as the Originals passed on to them. But I do not have the upgrade needed to read it."

"I will read it" speaks Thorsus-Omni-Trifid. Using his universal translation retinal implants he reads the near-billion year old words aloud for the first time in forty-million generations:

I'd like to see someone run for Mayor/Council on the platform of removing all the offending billboards regardless of the court case. If T-Town wins, Clear Channel et al can come pick up their signs after they pay the fines.
If Clear Channel wins, they can come pay the fines, pick up and reinstall their signs at 100% cost to them.

Even if the City were to pay, in the end, to have the billboards removed, I think that fat $25.5 million fine would more than cover them. Instead, we're removing 53 billboards and plopping down digital billboards that ClearChannel is jealous the tribes are able to put up along our freeways. Looks like we'll have more there but also lightbright like ones in mostly south end 'hoods. Fair? Not on your bloody life.

I vote, however, we come up with a light pollution ordinance that requires certain forms of lit signs with a surface area greater than 100 sq ft be extinguished within an hour of sunset every night.

The question is, what should we spend these funds on once they pay up?"

Believe it or not there are still 2300 city employees who aren't being paid over $100,000 per year. We can never hope to emulate Bell California without addressing this seriously deficient underpayment to city employees.